


Once Upon A Time (In Space)

by depressed_eldritch_horror



Series: The Mechanisms Novelization [1]
Category: Once Upon a Time (In Space) - The Mechanisms (Album), The Mechanisms (Band)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-13 07:14:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29647698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/depressed_eldritch_horror/pseuds/depressed_eldritch_horror
Summary: Aboard the starship Aurora, a group of pirates prepare to tell their story.Their pilot, Drumbot Brian, has left their ship to steer herself, taking them whenever they need to be. They tune their instruments and grab their guns, and their lead singer steps up to the mic.The Mechanisms sing their story to the stars and the people beyond.This is the novelization of Once Upon A Time (In Space), a music album by The Mechanisms. The characters of Rose, Snow, King Cole, Cinders, Drs Hansel and Gretel, as well as the storyline, is all their creation.
Series: The Mechanisms Novelization [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2178585
Kudos: 2





	Once Upon A Time (In Space)

**Author's Note:**

> Reminder: these characters aren't mine, and neither is the story. I have no connection to the members of The Mechanisms. I just decided to play around and turn their albums into novels.

Aboard the starship Aurora, a group of pirates prepare to tell their story.  
Their pilot, Drumbot Brian, has left their ship to steer herself, taking them whenever they need to be. They tune their instruments and grab their guns, and their lead singer steps up to the mic.  
The Mechanisms sing their story to the stars and the people beyond. 

In the underground bunker of Zantine, beneath the city of New Constantinople, King Cole ruled over his empire in tyranny. Long ago he was a good king, a wise king, it was even said of him that he was merry. However, in his power-fueled greed, he had used technology from lost times to extend his life. His body had been contorted, making him small and shriveled in his age, and his soul turned red in its lust for blood and conquest.  
Throughout his reign, King Cole had conquered many planets, storming galaxies with his vicious army. He took control of hundreds of worlds in the name of New Constantinople, yet the fire in his soul brought him to crave more and more. He spread his resources thin, and forced every able body in the city to register for the draft. The scientists were overworked, trying to find a way to make the soldiers stronger, faster, better.  
Less useful members of the army were experimented on in hopes that some new drug would make them better than their bodies would otherwise allow.  
Rumor has it that these experiments led to the creation of King Cole’s elite guard, known only as the Little Pigs Three.  
No one has a damn clue who they are- Or rather, who they were before the experiments. All that is known about them is that they are by far the strongest, fastest, and cleverest soldiers in New Constantinople. Unlike the rest of the king’s army, they didn’t carry guns. Instead, the Little Pigs carried razor sharp swords that could decapitate someone with a well-placed strike.  
The rumor about King Cole’s little piggies wasn’t the only tall tale that circled New Constantinople, however.  
Old King Cole knew the rumors, and took great care to execute anyone found guilty of spreading them. But he never bothered to dismiss the stories, however villainous they made him look. There were stories of his arrival onto New Constantinople, how he had perhaps arrived in a pod from a distant starship. There were tales that he was a bastard, and shouldn’t be king at all, though no one could remember the name or face of the ruler before him. The most common tall tale about him, however, involved a fire.  
In New Constantinople, there was a family of nobles known as the Whites. Alice White was born into a long, long line of riches and notability, with a close connection to King Cole. Her husband, Ivan, had been hardly more than a peasant on the city streets working a small job as a technology developer when he caught the eye of Miss Alice. They fell in love fast and passionate, like an explosion, and it was only seven months after their first meeting that Alice proposed. They married only two months after that. Their wedding was dramatic and extravagant, and it was there that Ivan first met the king.  
He came up to the happy couple after the ceremony, as a path cleared for him and the three masked figures with swords that followed.  
“Ah- your majesty!” Ivan said, sweeping into a deep bow. The king laughed (or attempted to, but it sounded a lot more like a choking goat).  
“No need for formalities, boy. It’s your wedding day, after all, and I’d hate to steal the thunder.” He said, clapping Ivan on the back. “Congratulations to the both of you. A fantastic couple.”  
Alice smiled. “Thank you, your Majesty. It’s truly fantastic to see you again.”  
“Of course, Alice. I wouldn’t miss your wedding for the world!” He grinned crookedly. “Unfortunately, I must be off. Lots of duties to attend to when you’re the king! But, ah… pop by any time. You know the way.”  
And then he was gone, leaving behind an extravagant gift and the faint smell of electricity and medicine.  
Ivan soon pushed the memory of the king to the back of his mind, as much as any citizen of New Constantinople could. He was lucky, for a while, with other things to occupy his mind. Three weeks after the wedding, Alice broke the news of her pregnancy.  
The Whites rejoiced, and Ivan and Alice were flung into a whirlwind of baby showers, cradles, and preparations. A nursery was added to the house, with the walls programmed to change based on the outside sky. Tiny outfits were purchased, along with far too many stuffed animals.  
After a long, long nine months, Alice White gave birth to two beautiful twins. The first came out fast, ready and raring to meet the world head-on. Her sister took longer, as if she was considering her next moves like a game of chess. When she did finally come out to meet her sister, it became immediately obvious that there would be no problems distinguishing them. The first sister was bigger, like she had consumed most of the nutrients in the womb, and had a bright tuft of red hair. Her sister was small and lean, with pitch-black hair and deep grey eyes. Alice and Ivan named them Rose and Snow.  
The Whites took their baby girls to their lovely home, and Ivan would have been perfectly content to forget about his wife’s connection to King Cole, if it weren’t for the message that was delivered two weeks after the twins’ birth.  
There was a sharp knock at the door. Ivan slipped Rose into his wife’s arms, and opened the door to reveal a pale, sweating man with a paper envelope in his hand.  
“Uh- Mr. White, uh, this is from His Royal Highness, King Cole. Please, um, respond to His Majesty’s request at your earliest convenience.” He thrust the paper at Mr. White.  
“Oh, thank you, young man. Have a lovely day.”  
The pale man nodded sharply, before dashing off in the other direction.  
Ivan returned to his wife and daughters, sitting on the couch before carefully tearing open the envelope.  
Inside was a piece of thick white paper.  
To The White Family  
I was ever so pleased to hear of your daughters’ birth.  
I would greatly like to meet Miss Rose and Miss Snow… I request that you bring the two to meet me, Sunday.  
I look forward to seeing you.  
His Royal Highness,  
King Cole of New Constinionaple 

Ivan felt his stomach drop as he looked up at his wife. Alice smiled at him, though there was a subtle flicker of fear in her grey eyes.  
“Well! That could be lovely. And, you never know, maybe the girls will soften his heart!” she said. “Yes, love, but… Will it be safe?”  
“Of course it will, Ivan. I’d never take you or the girls into a dangerous situation.”  
Ivan nodded slowly, and his wife grinned before turning back to stare into the faces of her daughters. 

Four days later, Ivan and Alice put on their best suits, dressed their daughters in matching white gowns, and made their way through underground tunnels to the King’s meeting room.  
They were led by various severents through twisting paths, before coming to a cavernous room lit by faint lines running along the wall, pulsing in green and blue. They reminded Ivan of veins.  
King Cole sat upon his throne, his shriveled body making his already ridiculously large chair seem sized for a being that was not human. When the Whites entered, he sat up and clapped his frail hands together.  
“Fantastic to see you again, Ivan, and Alice, my dear, simply fantastic.”  
He stood, his frail form shaking, and made his way towards the family. The slightest movement from the throne caught Ivan’s eye, and he glanced over. Standing directly behind the chair, there were three masked figures in all black, still as statues. The Little Pigs Three.  
Ivan suppressed a shudder as he watched them, and forced his attention back to the king, who had taken Baby Snow into his arms and was staring down at her with his crooked grin.  
“She seems to be a clever one.” he said.  
Alice chuckled. “Yes, she does! She’s very wise for a three-week old.”  
“Hm. Yes.” King Cole stared into Snow’s face, and Ivan watched as her big eyes roamed across his old face, before wrinkling her small nose. Cole wrinkled his nose right back at her, before handing her back to Alice and scooping Rose out of Ivan’s arms, much to Ivan’s surprise.  
“Oh, now, this one… this one’s the strong one!” He cooed. Ivan shook himself from his shock.  
“Yes, she really is- damn near broke my thumb one time!”  
The king tore his gaze from the redheaded child to stare dead at Ivan. His eyes were narrowed and a snarl replaced his previously smiling face.  
“There’s no need to be profane in the presence of children.”  
With that, he thrusted Rose back into Ivan’s arms, and turned away to limp back to his throne.  
“It is time for you to leave, I think. You have beautiful children.”  
Alice opened her mouth to protest, but Ivan grabbed her arm and tugged her out of the throne room, before booking it down the halls. The couple barely spoke until both children were asleep, when Alice collapsed on the couch next to her husband, a glass of red wine in her hand.  
“That… could’ve gone worse?” She said, peering up at Ivan curiously. He sighed.  
“It could’ve gone much better, though.”  
“I think that might just be how it is with him, y’know? My family’s known him a long time, but I’ve only met him a couple times. Every time though… The meeting ended pretty abruptly. It wasn’t your fault.”  
“Hm. I’d hope not… God, can you imagine if I offended the king? We’d be screwed!”  
The two dissolved into nervous laughter, before pushing past the topic of the king and moving on to talk about their baby girls. 

Back in the underground tunnels of Zantine, King Cole sat on his throne once more.  
“Pigs,” He called. The three masked people moved as one, practically materializing in front of their master. “Please have the Whites return. Once a year… on this day. And if Ivan causes any trouble… take care of it.”  
The Little Pigs Three bowed swiftly before departing into the tunnels. 

And so, once a year, two weeks after the twin’s birthday, they visited the King.  
For most of the year, Ivan was able to put Cole out of his mind, and focus on his family. Rose and Snow grew incredibly fast, and soon proved to be as different as they possibly could. Snow was clever and quick as a fox, and spent her days reading ridiculous amounts of books. Rose, on the other hand, was stronger than most were at her age, and could beat most of the children in her school in any sport. And yet, they were thick as thieves, and performed many schemes together, including several attempts to steal Alice’s wedding ring off her finger (there were five attempts, of which three were successful).  
Time ebbed and flowed for the Whites- and sooner than Alice and Ivan could even realize, it was the twin’s seventh birthday. Like every year, there was an extravagant celebration with unnecessary amounts of cake, toys, books, and anything else the twins could want.  
Two weeks later, Alice and Ivan put on their suits, and Rose and Snow put on their white dresses, and the family marched solemnly to their meeting place.  
When they arrived, Ivan knew immediately that something was different. The energy in the room was… off. Usually, King Cole sat hunched over on his throne, reading some text on his screen. Usually, the Little Pigs Three stood in shadow, barely noticeable.  
This time, King Cole sat loosely on his throne, hands steepled under his chin, leaning back. This time, the Pigs stood in front of him, hands on the hilts of their swords.  
The Whites moved cautiously to stand in front of the throne, too close to the Pigs for Ivan’s comfort. King Cole made no move to leave his throne, and the Pigs made no move to leave whatsoever.  
Ivan and Alice bowed deeply, prodding their daughters to do the same.  
“Good to see you again, Miss Alice.” Cole drawled, barely glancing at the family.  
“And you as well, Your Majesty.”  
“Are these young ladies the same as last year?”  
“... Yes, Your Majesty.”  
He turned to look at the girls, arching a horrible eyebrow at them in disappointment. “Hm. I suppose… a life of pampering would turn any child fat and stupid.”  
Ivan felt rage coursing through his veins, and felt his wife stiffen next to him. The girls for their part, said nothing.  
“You should really think about pampering them less,” Cole scoffed. “They’ll just get fatter and stupider, and be no use to anyone. Perhaps send them to an acquaintance who can better handle children with potential. Or, sign them up for an army training camp. Rose, at the very least, could be of real use to our armies.”  
Ivan cleared his throat, forcing his boiling rage back. “With all due respect, Your Highness, our daughters aren’t even-”  
King Cole moved for the first time since the Whites had entered his throne room, slamming his hands on the armrests and screaming.  
“Shut up! Just, shut up, you useless gold-digging freak! Alice was going somewhere, and you just had to come along with a taste for pretty women and money. You’re a pig. A whore.” He leaned towards Ivan. “You would be nothing without her. You’d be dead, on the streets.”  
Ivan’s jaw opened and closed like a fish (or what he perceived to be a fish, he’d never seen one).  
“Leave.”  
The White family left, their meeting taking barely a minute. They walked in dead silence, as they usually did, until they were on the regular streets of New Constantinople. Then, Alice tore their king a new one.  
“How dare he? How dare he? He may be the king of this godforsaken planet-” she swept her arm around dramatically to indicate the shittiness of the planet around them. “- But he had no right to say any of those things to you! And the things he said about our girls?! No right whatsoever!”  
Her rampage continued as they walked, finally subsiding when they reached their manor.  
After the girls were in bed, Alice plopped beside her husband with a glass of red wine, like she did every year.  
“That could’ve gone much better.” Ivan said, wrapping an arm around Alice and burying his face into her hair.  
“Yeah.”  
“I’m sorry.”  
“Why? You don’t have anything to be sorry about.”  
“It’s just…” Ivan sighed. “He was right, y’know? I did drag you down with me a bit.”  
Alice pushed herself up to glare into her husband’s face.  
“That’s bullshit. Don’t say that. You are my reason for existence, you and the girls, okay? I love you more than I could ever love anything. You didn’t drag me down. You made me so much better.”  
She kissed him gently. “I love you more than words can express.”  
Ivan pressed his forehead to hers. “You are my perfection.”  
They went to bed that night happy, finding joy in the despair of their lives. 

But this story, odd as it may seem, is not about Ivan and Alice. How can it be, when they died that night?  
No one had any clue how it had happened. There were theories, of course. Some thought it was just a careless light left on, or perhaps one of them had a smoking habit.  
No one said the real theory out loud- the one everyone agreed on.  
King Cole had hired someone to light the fire in Alice and Ivan’s bedroom, killing them but leaving their daughters alive. The mysterious arsonist had set the blaze and escaped silently, with only King Cole knowing their identity.  
The twins were able to escape the inferno, and were found the next morning huddling on the street, covered in soot and shivering, watching the blaze. When they were found, tear tracks ran down their face, but neither cried nor spoke when they were pulled from the wreckage that was their life. They held hands as blankets were wrapped around them, questions were asked, and finally as they were loaded into a car and taken to child services.  
“Can you tell me your names?” Bel asked for the second time. “Can you talk?”  
They were kneeling on the ground, looking between Rose and Snow. The twins sat in silence, with the bigger one’s arm wrapped around her sister protectively. Bel had been there for less than two minutes, but already, they desperately needed a smoke break. They sighed heavily as the redhead one looked away, a scowl forming on her face. Sometimes they really hated being a child protective agent.  
“Look, girls, I just want to help. It’s been a long day for all three of us, and I just want to find out how I can make this easier for you. So. Can you tell me your names? Please?”  
The dark-haired one lifted her head from her sister’s shoulder, looking deep into Bel’s eyes.  
“Yes, we can tell you our names, we’re not stupid. But, as you said, Agent Bel, it’s been a long day for all three of us, and I’m sure you can understand the lack of communication on our parts. We literally just lost everything.” Her deep blue eyes bored into Bel’s and they felt a creeping sense of fear working its way up their spine. “But, yes. We can tell you our names. I am Snow. My sister is Rose. Our family is known as the Rawiyas. Can we please go somewhere to sleep now?”  
Bel looked at the twins- Snow, pleading and yet steady, and Rose, broken and yet strong. They felt their heart break as they looked at the two. Sometimes they really hated being a child protective agent. For a lot of reasons.  
“Yeah. We’re… I’m gonna help you find a place. You’ll be okay.”  
Bel stood and made to move, before pausing and patting Snow on her small shoulders.  
That night, the twins stayed in a home, for without any family to take them in, they had nothing. They stayed there for two years, before being adopted at age nine by Edward and Tom Ilhan. The Ilhans were good fathers, and encouraged the twin’s talent as much as they could for the nine years they lived with them. 

Back in the underground tunnels of Zantine, King Cole once again sat on his throne with steepled hands and the Little Pigs Three stood in front of him, silent soldiers ever present.  
“I take it the Rawiyas have been dealt with?”  
A response came in the form of a simultaneous nod from all three.  
“Good. That’s good. Be sure to pay our lovely arsonist. And make sure the twins are adopted by someone more suitable than Ivan and Alice.”  
Another nod.  
“Well? Get to work.”  
A final nod, and the Three split.  
Cole relaxed in his chair with a heavy sigh, wincing at the odd aches and pains in his old body.  
“I’ll have my kingdom,” He said softly, with the only person to hear being the Pig in the corner. “I’ll have my kingdom yet.”


End file.
